Monthly Archives: December 2016

A fourth member of the Bradenton Beach Planning and Zoning Board has resigned on the heels of the May 17 city commission meeting.

Longtime P&Z board member Jo Ann Meilner asked for apologies at the May 17 meeting for the way she and other P&Z board members were treated following their April recommendation to deny the city’s joint development agreement with BeachHouse owner Ed Chiles to construct a dune and parking lot across from city hall.

Meilner’s request for apologies went unanswered by the commission and the city attorney and she told The Islander following the meeting she would be resigning.

In a letter dated May 17 to Mayor John Shaughnessy, Meilner said the city’s lack of faith in P&Z board members to appropriately do their job was her final straw.

“It has become very clear that this commission believes the P&Z board and citizens of this city are incapable of reading our city’s comprehensive plan and land development codes and understanding what they say,” Meilner said. “The city’s attorney has insinuated that only people with degrees and letters behind their names are qualified. How insulting.”

Meilner said for 10 years she has served the city and has sat on committees that reviewed and wrote some of the codes that have been called into question for the dune/parking lot project.

“The citizens of this city were loud and clear on the intent of the preservation land use,” she said. “Today, you ignored those codes. You brushed them aside without a word. You dismissed the work and efforts of what was a very dedicated and hard-working board, a board with educated and degreed citizens, who have nothing to gain from our decisions.”

Meilner’s resignation follows the resignation of three other P&Z board members. P&Z chair Rick Bisio resigned immediately after a contentious May 3 meeting where P&Z members were accused of presenting a “tainted” recommendation to deny the joint development agreement.

Former city commissioner and P&Z member Bill Shearon resigned the following day, and Joyce Kramer resigned later that week. Meilner’s resignation now removes more than 20 years of combined experience from the P&Z board and many more years in overall city service.

Meilner gives final argument
P&Z rejected the joint development agreement in April, which was then taken up by commissioners May 3. The final order was approved May 17, but not without one last fight from Meilner.

In public comment, Meilner asked for apologies from city attorney Ricinda Perry, Commissioner Ric Gatehouse and Shaughnessy in particular for the way P&Z members were treated at the commission’s May 3 public hearing.

P&Z had rejected the agreement with the BeachHouse, citing eight violations to the city’s land development code, but Gatehouse called the P&Z recommendations “colored and tainted” with personal bias. Perry argued P&Z qualifications were substandard to staff expertise, at one point cutting off Meilner’s public comments to argue on her own behalf.

“I think some apologies are in order,” said Meilner. “I ask (Perry) to apologize for interrupting me and I ask the mayor to apologize for allowing it to happen. I ask Commissioner Gatehouse to apologize for his accusations.”

No apologies were offered.

Meilner then stated further potential joint agreement violations of the city’s comprehensive plan.

Reading aloud from Article Six, Meilner said, “to change the use of city property requires an ordinance and referendum.”

The city also had argued that the proposed development site across from city hall was not zoned preservation because it was not seaward of the erosion control line, but Meilner cited the comprehensive plan’s definition.

“I went to the Holy Grail, the comp plan, which is our bible and must not be violated,” she said. “The city’s intent was to draw a line seaward of any private structures. Where there are no private structures, the intent is to designate all lands seaward of Gulf Drive, not seaward of the erosion control line. That’s the words of your comp plan.”

Meilner said it is vitally important for the city to follow its own rules to preserve integrity, and also to prevent potential litigation against the city.

Shaughnessy thanked Meilner for her comments and moved on with the meeting. Perry addressed the commissioners on the details of the joint development agreement final order, which had been delayed to include stipulations.

“I generally do not put final orders on the agenda but, for a number of reasons, I felt it important,” said Perry. “Number one, I felt like my integrity was called into question by the public, so I want to make sure every detail of this is transparent.”

Commissioners tweaked the stipulations to ensure the easement being given to the BeachHouse would not be developed now or in the future during the terms of the 10-year agreement.

A newly restored 1969 Aquasport flat back, owned by Alex Guitar, winds up wrecked on the shores of the Manatee Public Beach May 17. The boat was anchored south of Holmes Beach when last week’s storm rolled into the area, bringing the boat with it. There were no injuries involved. Islander Photo: Courtesy Joan McArthur

Al Hogle, Longboat Key police chief, was killed May 14 in a motorcycle crash in North Carolina.

According to Longboat Key Police Capt. Bill Tokajer, Hogle was riding with a group of friends in the mountains of North Carolina when the crash occurred.

Capt. Tokajer said Hogle was a great man, a good mentor, as well as his boss, and they were close. “He was a friend and a good Christian,” Tokajer said.

Hogle, who was in his early 60s, was formerly with the Sarasota Police Department. He served on the Sarasota City Commission, and also as mayor before taking the position of chief of the Bradenton Police Department. He served as Longboat Key’s police chief for the past 10 years.

Installation of new sewer lines on North Shore Drive in Anna Maria near the Cypress Avenue intersection by the Manatee County Utilities Department is under way and the project is expected to take several months to complete, according to an MCUD press release.

Traffic on North Shore Drive should not be affected by the work, the press release said.

Daytime only repairs to the Longboat Key Bridge/State Road 789 continue this week, but the project should be completed by the end of May, a Florida Department of Transportation spokesperson said.

The east sidewalk of the bridge and Greer Island — often called Beer Can Island — near the bridge are closed. The draw will open for boaters on demand.

Although no work was scheduled for the Memorial Day holiday weekend, the DOT spokesperson said the contractor will work Saturday, May 27, without interruption to traffic.

Information on the bridge project is available online at www.mySR789.com.

Love bugs signal angler affection: Tarpon season

If you haven’t noticed, we’re starting to see the arrival of love bugs on Anna Maria Island, and you know what that means? Tarpon.

For some reason, when the love bugs arrive, you can bet the annual migration of tarpon is close behind. Sightings of the tarpon are occurring daily from Longboat Key northward to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Decent numbers of fish are arriving, although the full moon tides in June will be the peak time to target the infamous silver king. For bait, tarpon fishers are using threadfin herring, pass crabs, shiners or pinfish.

Capt. Rick Gross of Fishy Business Charters is fishing the beaches and around Bean Point in search of tarpon. Gross likes to have an assortment of baits, including pass crabs, small blue crabs, threadfin herring and shiners. His trips are averaging three or four hookups, with most fish being in the 80- to 100-pound range.

Moving into the backcountry, Gross is still seeing consistent action on redfish, spotted seatrout and catch-and-release snook. For these backwater species, Gross is fishing the outgoing tides with live shiners. Keeper-size reds and trout are being caught as well as snook up to 32 inches.

Capt. Warren Girle also is fishing the beaches and passes for tarpon. In the morning, Girle working in the passes. In the afternoon, he moves off the beaches in search of schools of fish. Girle’s clients are hooking up to 10 silver kings per trip with most fish being in the 80- to 120-pound range. For bait, Girle is using pass crabs, threadfin herring and shiners.

Although Girle is primarily targeting tarpon, he’s still managing to get a little flats fishing in. Girle is using top-water plugs or Berkley Gulp shrimp to target shallow-water redfish in Sarasota Bay. Most fish being caught are in the slot of 18-27 inches, although larger fish are being caught, too. While targeting redfish, Girle’s charters are catching keeper-size spotted seatrout.

At the south bait shop on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge Fishing Piers, reports are of good action for migratory species in the early mornings. Bonito and Spanish mackerel are dominating the bite. Pier fishers using Gotcha plugs are catching good numbers of fish, while fishers using shrimp or fresh-cut greenbacks are doing equally well. Remember, if you’re going to use bait for these fish, use a long shank hook. This helps prevent the mackerel’s sharp teeth from cutting your line.

Pier fishers in search of something to put on the dinner table are targeting mangrove snapper under the pier. Best catches are occurring on the evening tides. For bait, fresh-cut greenbacks are a sure thing. Average size of the snapper is 12-14 inches.

Spotted seatrout also are being caught around the south pier. Again, pier fishers are getting best results during evening tides and at night. To catch these trout, pier fishers are using live greenbacks or shrimp rigged with a small split shot. By drifting baits out with the tide, fishers are catching spotted seatrout in the 15- to 20-inch range.

Jim Malfese at the Rod & Reel Pier is seeing decent action on bottom fish, such as black drum and redfish. For both of these species, pier fishers ar,e putting bait under the pier to get the bite. For the black drum live shrimp is working and for the reds, catch-your-own live shiners are good bait. Keeper-sizes of both drum and reds are being landed daily.

Spanish mackerel are frequenting the Rod & Reel Pier. Early morning fishers using white spec rigs are getting the bite. If you’re not sure what a speck rig is, stop by your local tackle shop and ask for one. A spec rig consists of two small jigs on one leader. They are known as a tandem rig. They come in an assortment of colors — white, pink and yellow. White or pink are the most popular colors to target mackerel.

Capt. Mark Johnston of Just Reel fishing charters is fishing north Sarasota Bay with good results. On the incoming tides, Johnston is fishing around Longboat Pass for flounder. “Have your net ready when you get them boat side,” warns Johnston. “Flounder love to spit the hook when they see the boat.”

Flounder up to 18 inches are being caught on live shiners.

Also on the incoming tides, Johnston is seeing an abundance of bonnethead sharks inhabiting the grass flats. Johnston likes to carry live shrimp in the boat just for this reason. He feels that the bonnet heads will bite a fresh-cut shrimp better then a live shiner. When hooked, these small sharks provide excellent action on light tackle.

As the high tide peaks and begins to change to outgoing, Johnston is fishing grass flats adjacent to mangrove islands in search of redfish and spotted seatrout. For both species, Johnston likes to free-line live shiners to get the bite. Average size of the redfish is 18-22 inches. For the spotted seatrout, Johnston says he’s catching 10 undersized fish before catching one in the slot. “There are a lot of little trout out there right now,” says Johnston. “If you’re persistent, you can catch some keeper-size fish.”

Capt. Mark Howard of SumoTime fishing charters says his fishing experience has been steady this past week. Howard reports spotted seatrout feeding heavily in water depths of 1 to 6 feet in Tampa Bay. A shiner rigged on a 2/0 hook with 3 feet of 25- to 30-pound fluorocarbon leader is Howard’s rig of choice. He likes to concentrate fishing on the edges of dropoffs and in the potholes along the flats. He reminds fishers to use a dehooker to release the fish and protect the slime coat.

Redfish are being found on the flats, in potholes and around mangrove islands at high tide. Howard suggests using a popping cork to draw attention to your shiner to help get the bite. “Some big schools of redfish are feeding when the tide is on the move,” Howard says.

Snook are starting to feed heavily as they prepare to migrate to the beaches for their spawning season, he says. “Although snook numbers are down, my clients have been landing some nice snook 30 inches long,” Howard reports.

Shiners work fine for these linesiders. For a trophy snook, Howard suggests switching to dead bait, like threadfin herring, ladyfish, mullet or a shiner and mashing the bait so the smell spreads. “Use a circle hook and leave the rigged pole in the pole holder,” Howard says. “Big snook are lazy and will readily hit dead bait thrown into a white, sandy pothole.”

Howard notes the volume of tarpon invading our waters, saying it may increase in numbers as the summer progresses. “Patience, a lot of luck and the right bait will help you to hook up to these formidable foes,” Howard says. “Mullet, pinfish, big shiners, threadfins and crabs are some of the baits the silver king will chew on,” Howard adds.

• May 12, 100 Cedar Ave., petit theft. A complainant reported her father’s memorial bench was missing, telling a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputy the last time it was seen was May 6. The bench was later located at the Willow Avenue beach access, a block north of its former location. However, the memorial plaque was missing from the bench.

• May 8, 200 block of Gladiolus Street, grand theft. A complainant reported that several items were stolen from her home. At press time, the MSCO deputy reported he had not yet received all of the information from the victim.

Anna Maria is policed by the MCSO.

Bradenton Beach

• May 12, 5100 block of Cortez Road, warrant. A 42-year-old Bradenton Beach woman was arrested on outstanding warrants after attempting to take a cab from the Clam Factory following a night of drinking. Upon arriving home, the woman told the cab driver she could not find any money and asked to be taken back to her vehicle. En route back to the Clam Factory, the driver was ordered by his dispatcher to stop and contact law enforcement. A MSCO deputy attempted to resolve the situation on scene. The woman offered to pay the $17 fare by check, but doing so was against the taxi company’s policy. She then attempted to borrow the money from the deputy, offering a credit card, which was declined. The deputy did a record check and found two active warrants, one each from Polk and Brevard counties. She was taken into custody on the warrants and charged with petit theft.

• May 16, 117 Bridge St., domestic battery. Police responded to a call of domestic violence at the Sports Lounge. While en route to the call, a police officer observed a woman fitting the description of the suspect. The officer made contact with the woman, who did not initially want to cooperate, but reported to the officer that she and her husband had been arguing. Police made contact with the husband at the Sports Lounge, and he said they had been arguing all day. Upon exiting the establishment, the husband noticed his car had been damaged. His wife allegedly admitted she had run into her husband’s vehicle with her own. She then reportedly said she was going to drive her vehicle into a building, at which time the husband called 911. The woman also was alleged to have slapped her husband in the face before leaving the scene on foot. She was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery.

Bradenton Beach is policed by the BBPD.

Cortez
• No new reports.Cortez is policed by the MCSO

Holmes Beach

• May 13, 600 Manatee Ave., theft. A witness reported a male and female taking a kayak from Westbay Cove condominiums. The witness reported to police that he didn’t want to report it right away, thinking the female may have been the victim’s sister. Upon contacting the victim, it was discovered that the person taking the kayak was unknown. The kayak had been locked to a post, but the lock was cut.

• May 10, 6300 Flotilla Drive, petit theft. A male complainant reported a woman’s teal-and-white 26-inch Schwinn Cruiser bicycle stolen. He had rented the bike and left it outside of his condo.

• May 10, 200 block of 85th Street, vehicle burglary. A complainant reported someone had stolen his GPS unit from his unlocked vehicle. Finger prints were secured at the scene.

• May 10, 5400 Marina Drive, drugs. A 24-year-old Bradenton man was arrested for possession of marijuana and knowingly driving on a suspended license. Michael Bergbreiter Piazza was stopped by police after the officer noticed an expired tag. Upon approaching the vehicle, the officer reported smelling burnt marijuana. Piazza was secured at the scene and gave permission for officers to search the vehicle, where they found .09 grams of marijuana, 16 oxycodone pills, five morphine pills and 1.5 bars of Xanax. The report did not indicate if the suspect had a prescription but, as of press time, had only been charged with driving while license suspended and misdemeanor marijuana possession.

• May 11, 6101 Marina Drive, criminal mischief. While on routine patrol, a Holmes Beach police officer noticed two broken window panes at Island Real Estate. A brick was found inside the business. The damage was estimated at $200.

• May 9, 5800 block of Marina Drive, theft. A female complainant reported a bicycle stolen from her front yard. She told police she typically locks the bike up, but had not done so the previous night. It is described as a red, 21-speed Raleigh with a white basket.

• May 11, 3700 block of Gulf Drive, vehicle burglary. A mother and daughter reported the passenger side window of their vehicle had been broken and both of their purses were stolen. The value of items was listed at $630. Finger prints were secured at the scene.

• May 11, 3700 block of Gulf Drive, vehicle burglary. A female complainant reported her rear side window had been broken. Her purse and a friend’s purse had been stolen. The total value of items stolen was $750. Finger prints were secured at the scene.

• April 29, 500 block of 68th Street, burglary. A complainant reported a burglary to her residence where a silverware set valued at $1,500 had been stolen. Police observed a possible entry point at the rear sliding-glass door and secured finger prints at the scene.

• May 12, 5410 Marina Drive, battery. A woman reported being punched in the face by another woman while at D.Coy Ducks. Witnesses interviewed at the scene told police the two women had been arguing, and confirmed that one woman did punch the other before leaving the establishment. The woman was identified and cited for misdemeanor battery.

• May 12, 4000 Gulf Drive, disturbance. Police were called to a disturbance where a woman reported that her juvenile brother had been hit by a car during a dispute over a parking space. A second female was accused of hitting the boy, but told police she had been waiting for the parking place and, as she began to pull in, the boy ran into the space to hold it for his sister. The woman reported the boy had slammed his fists on her hood when she told him he could not save the parking space. Witnesses on the scene verified the woman’s story of the boy hitting the car, and the sister and brother were asked to leave the beach parking lot.

Holmes Beach is policed by the HBPD.

Streetlife is based on incident reports and narratives from the Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach police departments and Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Dips continues to roll over competition in basketball league

Tegan Purtill poured in 32 points to lead Dips Ice Cream to a 57-40 victory over Integrity Sound during Anna Maria Island Community Center Premier Division basketball action May 15. Purtill also contributed nine rebounds and four assists for Dips, which also received 13 points and nine rebounds from Jerry Mayer in the victory. Justin Gargett and Connor Field both finished with 4 points and nine rebounds.

Burke McCampbell-Hill paced Integrity Sound with 16 points and five rebounds, while teammate Joey Carder finished with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists. Thomas Pears and Pierce Hogan both finished with 6 points to complete the Integrity Sound scoring in the loss.

Beach Bistro remained atop the 8-10 division standings with an 18-4 victory over Island Real Estate May 14. Franklin Valdez led the way with 12 points and 31 rebounds. Jack Groves, Luke Marvin and Ava Zink each added 2 points to complete the Bistro scoring.

Walter & Associates rolled past Ross Built 54-37 in 11-13 division action May 16. Jack Walter and Mark Miller each scored 22 points and pulled down 15 plus rebounds to lead the Associates, which also received 6 points and five rebounds from Seth Walter in the victory.

Holy Cow Ice Cream used a balanced scoring attack that saw no one scoring double-digits, but all seven players scored at least 2 points in a 38-21 victory over Southern Greens in the final 11-13 division game of the evening. Moriah Goode scored 8 points, while Trent Boring, Rory Houston and Joey Stewart scored 7 points apiece. Jonathan Lallement and Austin Morrow finished with 4 points each, while Leo Tilelli completed the Holy Cow victory with 2 points

Southern Greens was led by Andrew Zink’s 19 points and 14 rebounds and 2 points and nine rebounds from George Lardas in the loss.

Adult basketball rolls on

Gator Man Pools continues to lead the pack with a 5-0 record in the adult coed basketball league at the center. Beachhouse Restaurant is right on Gator’s heels with a 4-1 record, followed by Sun at 3-2. Bowes Imaging Center, B.Y. Construction, the Feast and Beach to Bay Construction follow in the standings, all with sub .500 records.

With only three regular-season games remaining, there’s not much time for teams to move up in the standings or to improve a team’s playoff seeding. The playoffs get started June 12 with the championship game scheduled for June 22.

Gator Man Pools showed why they’re undefeated in first place with an 83-36 victory over Sun May 15. Aaron Dudeks paced Gator with 32 points and 11 rebounds, while Sean Hubbard finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds and one blocked shot. Evan Wolfe added 13 points and Chris Smith finished with 11 points in the victory.

B.Y. Construction earned its second win of the season by edging the Feast 51-48 behind 22 points and 11 rebounds from Matt Ray. Eric Gledhill added 16 points and eight rebounds, while Chuck McCracken finished with 6 points in the win.

Jonathan Moss scored 15 points and Robert Serrano added 13 points to lead the Feast, which also received 11 points from Brent Moss in the loss.

Key Royale golf new

The women of the Key Royale Club played a nine-hole, individual-low-net-in-flight match May 15. Penny Williams grabbed first place in Flight A with a 3-under-par 29, while Helen Pollack, Sandi Tocco and Jean Holmes finished in a three-way tie for second place with matching 1-under-par 31s.

Sue Wheeler carded a 6-under-par 26 to grab a four-shot victory in Flight B over Tootie Wagner, who finished alone in second place with a 2-under-par 30. Mary Selby, Markie Ksiazek and Liz Lang finished in a tie for third place at 1-under-par 31.

Tocco managed a birdie on hole two, while Lang and Ksiazek each had chipins on the day.

Horseshoe news

Walker Steve Doyle was the only one to earn three required wins in pool play and was the undisputed champion during May 19 horseshoe action at the Anna Maria City Hall horseshoe pits.

Play gets under way at 9 a.m. every Wednesday and Saturday at the Anna Maria City Hall pits. Warmups begin at 8:45 a.m. followed by random team selection.

There will be two tryout dates for each age group and players are encouraged to attend both sessions. Players will register 5-6 p.m. and tryouts will be 6-7:30 p.m. The schedule is as follows:

May 29: U9-U10 boys and U9-U11 girls.

May 30: U11-U12 boys and U12-U14 girls.

May 31: U13-U16 boys and U15-U16 girls.

June 4: U9-U10 boys and U9-U11 girls.

June 5: U11-U12 boys and U12-U14 girls.

June 6: U13-U16 boys and U15-U16 girls.

Mayso invites all area players to participate in its competitive soccer program. For more information, go online at www.mayso.org or e-mail Kevin Cassidy at competition@mayso.org, or Neil Fellowes at treasurer@mayso.org.